Sound Modality

This is the place where we recommend different modalities of sounds for you to experience. Sound is very interesting and also very individualized. Sounds that irritate some people, send others into nirvana. The same sound can be too loud for one person while another can hardly hear it. There is some research that as we age we lose the ability to hear certain sounds, and this has to do with the cilia, the little hairs in our ears. In fact, about 10 years ago or so, they started coming out with sounds on your phone in a certain sound range that kids could hear and not their teachers, which of course they would play in the classroom (yes, my kids did it--Karen)  Just check out "sounds that kids can hear but not adults", it's very interesting.

Getting back on track, sound therapy has been used for centuries in helping to address certain ailments in our human condition, usually those having to do with the brain.  There is some research that sounds/music can reduce stress, which lowers cortisol, decreases anxiety and depression, improves memory, reduces blood pressure, reduces awareness of pain, lowers cholesterol and decreases risk of  heart disease and stroke.  Some people, however, feel there needs to be more research done in order for these claims to be conclusive.

We don't know about you, but one of the first things that we thought about was-- Elevator Music! Elevator music or MUZAK, as it has come to be known, originally started in 1922 when they put music in elevators to ally the fears of the people willing to get in the contraption. Elevators had been around for awhile, but were manned by an attendant. Now people were alone in the box and boredom entered into the picture. It worked so well, that they found other uses for MUZAK--like stores, factories, waiting  rooms, when you're on hold, etc.

Muzak is designed to blend into the background so that you hardly notice it, to fill the silence and boredom. In the 1940's, scientific research suggested that a worker's output could be increased by listening to Muzak, and it entered the work place and factories. By the 1960's it was on planes, buses, trains and all their stations. President Eisenhower had the White House piped for it during his tenure. It was even in the background of the Apollo 11 launch, in hopes it would calm the astronauts down.

But the really interesting thing is what they found they could do when they introduced it into the stores and malls--The sounds could make shoppers shop longer and browse more easily, resulting in bigger sales, all while you're humming along to something you're hardly even aware you're listening to!

Now, you might have noticed a decrease in Muzak in public areas. This is being linked to the use of cell phones, as we now have our own personal sound box containing our personalized sounds programmed by us, that will keep the dreaded boredom and silence away.

SOUND is POWERFUL!

Today we suggest listening to singing bowls--whether they be crystal or metal. We like the singing bowls because along with the sound, they somehow make you aware of the beautiful silence.

You might want to try both to see if there is any difference for you. If you have some, play them, but if not, there's this amazing thing called "YouTube" and you can find just about anything there. 

May we suggest Jeralyn Glass for the crystal bowls? Her session entitled "You are loveable and made of light" fits in with our theme and is quite lovely.

"Crystal Chakra Meditation with Antique Tibetan Singing Bowls" by Templesounds is quite nice. Or browse around and find ones that call to you.